Improved hoop-machine



UNITED STATES APATENT OFFICE.

JOHN THOMPSON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND MARTIN REED, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVED HOOP-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,664, dated November 17, 1863.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN THOMPSON, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State Of New York, have invented a new and use ful Machine for Cutting Barrel-Hoops 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is afplan or top view ofthe machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken in the plane indicatethbylthe red line o in Fig. l.

Similar lettersof referenceindicate corresponding parts in both figures.

The nature of this invention will be understood by reference to the drawings and speciiication.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

The several letters A in the drawings represent the bed-frame of the machine; B, the

sliding or rest frame; C, the self-adjusting rest; D, the knife; E, the ratchet-wheel which governs the changes in the position of the rest C; F, the driving-shaft, and G the connectingrod. The bed-frame A may be made ot wood or other suitable material, and it is provided with lugs H, which clasp the sides of the sliding frame B. The knife D is made the length of the hoop, and its edge may be provided with one or more offsets, as seen at a, Fig. 1, each section, however, being parallel to the restZO. The gagerest b may be made adjustable vertically by means of set-screws, (shown byjdotted lines at n, Fig. 2,) passing through slots in the girt A',

and into the vertical plate p of the gage.`

The object of this adjustment is to regulate the thickness of the hoop. The rest C, if

made of wood, may be faced with a plate of iron at the lower edge toward the knife, in which case this plate may project at each end into a recess, c, (formed in each side rail of the frame B,) and constitute the pivot on which the rest swings. The latter should be hung so as to just clear the knifezwhile passing over it. The adjusting-lever J ofthe rest is operated by the pins ein the ratchet-wheel E, which is hung to the arm K, the latter being xed to the sliding frame B. The wheel is provided with eight hook-teeth, t, (or twice as many teeth as there are pins 6,) and the spring-pawl d prevents it from turning one way, while the spring-catch f (which is fixed to the bed-frame) turns it one notch at every turn of the drivin gshaft. The rest C is kept in its place by the buttons g, Fig. l, and the bolt or plank from which the hoops are being cut is pressed firmly against the face of the rest by the springs s, which are Xed to i the sliding frame B.

Operation: The timber is first sawed into planks corresponding in thickness to the desired'width ofthe hoops. The bolts are then made by cutting the planks into hoop lengths. A bolt is then placed between the springs s and the rest C and the end brackets, t', with its lower edge resting upon the gage b, and as the rest is driven to the left the knife cuts one hoop from the bolt at one strike, but only one-third of its length at a time, which requires so much less power than to cut the whole length at Once. When the sliding frame returns, the ends of the relieving-bar h strike the lugs H just before the frame reaches its backward stroke, thus forcing the springs s, to which the bar is fixed, away from the bolt, and its own gravity forces it down upon the gage. The next stroke releases the bar and the springs again catch and hold the bolt during the next cutj While this adjustment of the bolt is being effected the wheeLE is turned one notch, causing the end of the lever J to fall from pin c tofpin e, thereby changing the position'of the rest, thetop being thrown back from the position shown by the dotted lines J', Fig. This makes one edge of the hoop thick and the other thin, which allows it to conform'to the shape of the barrel. At the nextlstrokefthe wheel E being turned one tooth more, the pin e is carried up, and the end7 of ,'theleverJjwith it, where thelatteris held until after the next cut is made, and the next adjustment of the wheel drops the lever to thelnekt pin, and soon.

Ifneeessary, there may he a spring or Weight attached to the lever "J to keep it down upon the pins.

Thebolts may he soaked in Water or steamed, preparatory to cutting them, if desired.

The sides of the hoops made in this machine are as smooth as though they were planed.

What I claim as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Thercomloinatiou of the irregularshaped knife D with the automatically-adjlisting rest C and adjustable gage b, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The employment of the knifev D; oonstruoted with one or more offsets in its cutting-edge, as described,` and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the Wheel E, the spring-pawl d, and vcatch f,*or their equivalents, with the rest C, as and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN THOMPSON.

Witnesses WM. S. LoUGHBoRoUGH, Asn H. BILLINGs. 

